Luka Doncic Speaks on Importance of Winning NBA MVP

It's a hard feat to win the MVP award in the NBA. What would it mean to Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic to pull it off?

Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic has been a contender for the MVP award often over the last three seasons. He has finished as an All-NBA First-Team recipient three times but has yet to win the highest individual honor. Will that change in 2022-23?

Many experts have made Doncic a popular preseason MVP favorite over the last two seasons. Coming off a Western Conference Finals appearance, many continue to make Doncic their projected MVP. The departure of Jalen Brunson has only furthered that notion. 

Doncic appeared on ESPN's "NBA Today" to discuss his signature shoe, when he met Michael Jordan and various Mavericks-related topics. Doncic discussed the possibility of winning the MVP.

"Hopefully, MVP is unbelievable," Doncic said. "If I could be named MVP would be enormous accomplishment. I’ll be so happy, but you never know. I hope I’m in that conversation."

There tends to be a needed mix of team success and massive statistical output for a player to win the MVP. The Mavericks finished fourth in the Western Conference standings after winning 52 games. Finishing within the top two historically tends to be important, but has proven in recent years to not be a requirement. 

The statistical output Doncic tends to produce already is sufficient to be an MVP. He averaged 28.4 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 8.7 assists in 65 games last season. Continuing to put up numbers like that should have him as a serious candidate. What else is needed?

Perhaps most important of all for Doncic is narrative. People are closely monitoring his weight and held it against him that he entered the 2021-22 season too heavy. After EuroBasket 2022, he should be in great shape ahead of the NBA season. 

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You can follow Grant Afseth on Twitter at @GrantAfseth.

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